By Victoria Heerschap
Have yourself a vegetarian-friendly feast with this delicious pasta primavera. This recipe is a rainbow on your plate! The bright pop of lemon and colorful vegetables is a perfect celebration of spring
A quick note on the prep: While it may seem to be a daunting task to slice up all of those veggies for a fast weeknight recipe, I find that the quick cooking time more than makes up for the time spent on prep. Remember, you can always do your prep a day or two ahead of time and keep the sliced vegetables in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Alternatively, you can substitute any of the vegetables listed in the ingredients of this recipe (except for the tomatoes) for a bag of a frozen vegetable medley.
Pasta Primavera Recipe:
Instructions:
2 cups uncooked penne pasta
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow squash – cut into half-moons
1 zucchini – cut into half-moons
1 small red onion – cut into thin strips
4 spears asparagus – cut into 1” pieces
1 orange bell pepper – cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic – minced
6 oz. grape tomatoes – halved
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
3 tbsp. fresh basil – chopped
Salt & pepper – to taste
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the penne pasta, and cook according to the box directions.
Prepare the vegetables according to the ingredient list. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, red onion, asparagus, and bell pepper and sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and basil and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat and incorporate the cooked pasta (along with a teaspoon or so of the pasta cooking water) in with the sautéed vegetables. Toss the pasta and veggies with the lemon juice and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.